Veterans Day: Why do we remember it?

I started out writing an article about this day and then after reviewing it a few days later, sent it flying into the computer scrap heap. It was long-winded and frankly pretentious. So it got trashed. Something like this needs to come from the heart and the soul of a soldier. To be honest, I am an old soldier, but a soldier nonetheless.

Why do we remember this day? Why bother? Some people have asked me just that over the years. So, why do I bother? Why do I choose to remember this day?

Why do I get up and put all that winter gear on? Go out to the Veterans Wall of Honor in Wasilla and stand there in that frigid wind every year? Enduring long-winded speeches by politicians and keynote speakers while all this time the bitter cold wind is carving new wrinkles into my face.

It is only when “Taps” is played that it all comes together. At those first haunting notes the answer is very clear to me. It is deep and the fate of my very soul is tied into it all. The words honor and respect blaze forth. These two words — and even a concept — that is slowly fading. Not if I can help it. It means a great deal to me is part of the question’s answer.

I choose to go out and endure all the cold and frozen body parts each year on this day to honor all those who fell in service to this nation. Some were friends of mine. Fellow soldiers I served with in the war. I go to show respect for them and to all those who came before my time in service to the country. My way of telling them all, “You are not forgotten. You gave all. May the good Lord grant what was held back in life. Peace.”

I’m pretty sure other veterans have similar feelings and reasons about Veterans Day. It is our day. Bought and paid for with our sweat, blood and bodies to serve America and the cause of freedom. The phrase “Freedom isn’t free” is more than just some silly saying on a bumper sticker. It is very true, very real.

All who have served pay a portion of the price. And troops still continue to pay in places like Afghanistan, Iraq and South Korea. On patrol at sea in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. In the air above us and in harms way overseas. The men and women of the U.S. Army, U.S. Marines, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Coast Guard. Those who are in the Reserves and National Guard must be included because they are serving a double duty with a proud history as citizen/soldiers who also fought, bled and died in many of our countries darkest hours of war.

This day is sometimes called Armistice Day, or better yet, Remembrance Day was to celebrate the end of World War I.This is where we get the phrase... on the 11th day, in the 11th month, at the 11th hour. The order changes but the thought remains the same. On 11 Nov. 1918 at 11 a.m. the guns fell silent and the “War to end all wars “was finally over. At least that was the going thought as Europe reeled from the savage slaughter of millions they endured for four years.

Sadly we would fight many more wars. In fact the evil seeds of a far larger war were planted on that day in 1918. The rise of the axis powers and madmen like Adolf Hitler would bring the world nearly down to its knees in less than 20 years.

Still many nations to include England, Canada, The United States and France are just some who still recognize and honor the holiday in the spirit it was made in. They know that the human race taken as a whole has a very short memory. And it needs to be reminded from time to time as to its deadliest of follies. War.

I hope that someday there will be an end to war. As to when that will happen? I fear never in my lifetime.

So on this Veterans Day I will put on all that winter gear. Stand there in the cold wind with my brother and sister veterans and the families of the fallen from all our nation’s conflicts — from World War II to Afghanistan. To honor all who have served, to give meaning to their sacrifices. We stand and salute their lives, their sacrifices and their memories as a tribute to their families. Because of their vital service this nation will carry on.

It is this debt I owe to them. This is what I must do as an old soldier. These are my last orders, so to speak. I received these orders from those who paid with their lives and limbs for America and the cause of freedom. It is a debt this entire nation owes them all. And the quiet hope that it will be the last war — the last time anyone has to die on the field of battle.

That is why we must remember this day. The cost of failure is way to high if we should forget. Even if that lofty goal is achieved we must never forget those who proudly served this nation symbolized by that flag flying overhead.

So as the first notes of “Taps” ring out, I will salute and pray for the fallen as a tear or two flows and then freezes on my cheek just as those notes touch my very soul. I sometimes feel the hands of the fallen on my shoulders during such events. Feeling their touch gives me strength to carry on.

I am SGT. Daniel D. Grota U.S. Army Retired, Veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom. I served with the 81st Brigade Combat Team and I will never forget them.

Wasilla resident Daniel D. Grota retired from the U.S. Army after more than 21 years of service.